Apparatus for charging retorts.



' Patented Apr. 3, I900; W. FUULIS.

APPARATUS FOR CHARGING RETORTS.

(N w d I (Application filed Nov 14, 1899.)

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WITNESSES WWW INVENTQR Arron NEYS Y5: uonms PETERS 00., PNOTD-LTHD" wwme'ron. n. c.

No. 646,820. Patented Apr. 3, 1900.

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APPARATUS FOR CHARGING RETORTS.

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WITNESSES INVENTO R MM L A a M ATTORNEYS No. 646,820. Patented Apr. 3, I900.

. W. FOULIS.

APPARATUS FOR CHARGING RETORTS.

(Application filed Nov. 14, 1899.) v (No Model.)

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. No. 646,820. Patented Apr. 3', moo.

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APPARATUS FOR CHARGING RETORTS.

' (Application-filed Nov. 14 1899.) (No Model.) s Sheets-Sheet 4,

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Patented Apr. 3, I900;

W. FDULIS.

APPARATUS FOR CHARGING RETDBTS.

(Application filed Nov. 14, 1599.

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(No Model.)

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7 Drawing the Charges Thereof, (for which I and lowering of the charge pushing or with- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VILIJIAM FOULIS, OF GLASGOW SCOTLAND.

APPARATUS FOR CHARGING RETORTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 646,820, dated April 3, 1900.

A Application filed November 189 9. Serial No. 736,975. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that 1, WILLIAM FoULIs, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain andIreland, and a resident of 4.5 John street, in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Charging Retorts and for- Stirring and have applied for a patent in Great Britain, No. 8,426, dated April 22, 1899,) of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for charging retorts and for stirring and drawing the charges thereof of the class described in United States Patents No. 498,755and No. 498,7 79, the objects of the present invention being to improve and simplify the construction of such apparatus and render it more easily operated, more efficient in action, and not liable to readily get out of order. I

I will describe my invention by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which;

Figure l is the left-hand end, and Fig. 1 the right-hand end, of the apparatus according to my invention, partly in side elevation and partly in longitudinal vertical section. Figs. 2 and 2 are similar portions of a plan of the apparatus. Fig. 3 is an'elevation of the left-hand end ofFig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view of a detached portion of Fig.3. Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal vertical section of a hydraulic cylinder for effecting the raising drawing device and the valve for controlling the supply of pressure-water to the main hy: draulic cylinders by which the said device is moved longitudinally. Fig. 6 is a. view of Fig. 5, partly in end elevation and partly in transverse vertical section. Figs. 7 and 8 are respectively a face view and a vertical section of a detached portion of Fig. 5. Fig. 9 is a plan, and Fig. 10 a transverse section on the line 10 10 of Fig. 9, of part of the apparatus shown in Fig. 2. Figs. 3 and5 to 10 are drawn to a scale larger than that to which Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4 are drawn.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts throughout the drawings.

According v to this invention I employ a guide or beam A, preferably formed like a hollow girder orof box form in cross-section,

with a longitudinal slot a at its under side,

this guide or beam being adjustably supported on a movable bogie (not shown in the accompanying drawings) in substantially the manner described in the aforesaid patents. On this guide or beam A are rigidly secured the two hydraulic cylinders BB the movable plungers or rams b b of which, through the pulleys b chains b4, and carriage C, are caused to impart forward-and-backward lon gitudinal movement to a rod D. The outer ends of the rams 1) b rigidly connected to gether by av bar I)", are provided with rollers 19 which travel along the upper surface of the guide or beam A, and the carriage O is mounted on rollers 0, Figs. 1 and 3, which travel along ledges or paths a on either side of thebefore-mentioned longitudinal slot a. By these means the said rams and carriage are capable of being moved along the guide or beam A with a minimum of frictional resist ance.

The rod D is preferably of T shape in cross- 'section and at one end is pivoted at 0 Fig. 1,

to the carriage O, and near its other end,'where it carries a'rake or pusher D or like device, it passes over a roller or pulley E, preferably grooved to fit said rod, as shown in Fig. 4. The roller or pulley E is journaled in the free ends of two lever-arms E whose upper ends are rigidly secured to a cross-shaft E ,mounted in bearings a on the guide or beam A, the said shaft having also secured to it a leverarm E to which is pivoted a rod 6, operated by the piston-rod f of a hydraulic cylinder F, secured to one side of the guide or beam A. The piston F of the hydraulic cylinder F, as shown in Fig. 5, is made so as to present a larger surface to the pressure-water at its rearward face f than it does at its forward face f and the pressure-water is constantly in communication with the spacein the cylinder F forward of the piston F this part of the cylinder communicating with the source of pressure-supply through the port or passage f, valve-chamber g, and inlet 9 A valve H (preferably a rotary valve, as shown) is provided in a valve-chamber h, with which the pressure-water has constant communication through a passage 7?, leading from the forward end of the cylinder F to the part of the chamber h at the rear of the valve II.

The valve II is provided with two ports h and a recess h and can be rotated by a handlever 7?, so as to bring the said ports 71 into register with two ports 7L6, (shown in dotted lines in Figs. 5 and 6,) and therebyadmit pressure-water to the back of the piston F or bring the recess 71 over the ports it, so as to place these ports in communication with the exhaust-outlet 7f, in which latter position the pressure on the forward face of the piston forces the said piston into its most rearward position. \Vhen pressure-water is admitted at the rear of the piston F the said piston is caused to move forward, owing to the area of the rear face. of the piston being larger than that exposed to the pressure-water at the forward side thereof. When the piston F is moved backward, it (through the pistonrodf, connecting-rod e, lever-arms E E and cr0ss-shaft E also draws the roller or pulley E backward from the position in which it is shown in full lines to that in which it is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, so that the operative end of the rod D and the raking, pushing, or other device thereon are raised by the said roller or pulley; \Vhen this roller or pulley is in its lowest position, the leverarms E are perpendicular or almost perpendicular to the rod D, and therefore the leverage exerted through the lever-arms E Eto raise the rod D and its attachments is considerably greater during the first portion of the movement (when it requires more power to raise it) than it is during the latter portion of the movement.

In connection with the cylinder F, I prefer to provide a cylinder J, having a piston j, which, like the before-described piston'F has a larger operative area at its rearward side than at its forward side, so that when pressure-water is admitted to the rear of the piston 7' greater pressure will be exerted on the rearward face than on the forward face, and consequently the said piston will be moved forward. The piston-rodj operatesa slide-valve J which through the portsj j j controls the passage of water to and from the before-mentioned cylinders B B and when the apparatus is employed for charging retorts the said ports are connected as follows:

- The portj is connected to the inlet of the hydraulic cylinder B, the function of which is to propel the rod D and its attachments forward into the retort, the port 7' is connected to the inlet k of the hydraulic cylinder 13 whose function is to withdraw the rod D from the retort, and the port j is connected to thefrom over the portj', through which the pressure-water then passes into the cylinder B, the cylinder B at this time being open to exhaust, by which operation the grooved roller E and rod D are lowered and at the same time the said rod is forced forward into the retort. \Vhen by turning the valve 11 the pressure is released from the back of the pistons F and), the pressure on the forward faces ofthe said pistons causes them to travel backward, so that the grooved roller E and rod D are raised, and pressure-waterbeing admitted to the cylinder B the rod is at the same time withdrawn from the retort.

\Vhen the apparatus is employed for drawing retorts, the connections between the hydraulic cylinders B B and the valve-portsj j" are the reverse'of those hereinlast described, so that the roller E, carrying the rake-rod D, is in its highest position when the rod D is being pushed into the retort and in its lowest position when it is being withdrawn from the retort.

\Vhen the apparatus is employed for charging retorts, the stroke of the rod D and pusher D has to be less at each succeeding stroke, as the first charge has to be pushed to the far end of the retort, the next charge to a position farther forward in the retort, and so on until the retort is sufiiciently charged. In order to effect this, I provide a lever L, the upper end of which is pivoted to a bracket Z, rigidly secured on the guide or beam A, and the lower end is forked and engages with the pin 6 by which the rod eand piston-rod f are joined together. To the lever L is pivoted a pawl Z which engages with teeth m on the rear end of a rod M, the said teeth being formed at distances apart corresponding with the stroke of the pawl. The rod M at its forward end is provided with inclines m m m m m", which are arranged so as to successively act upon stops n n n n n to project them in the requisite order to stop the pusher D when it has completed its strokes of the particular length required. A detached part of this mechan sm is shown in Figs. 9 and 10. The forward end of the ram 1) is provided with a projection a, which at the end of the first forward stroke of the said ram and pusher D is stopped by a fixed stop N. At the return stroke of the pusher D and corresponding backward stroke of the grooved roller E and rod e the pawl Z is moved backward, so as to be in a position to engage with the first of the rack-teeth m. At the next forward stroke of the rod 6 and ram Z) the pawl Z engages with the first of the rack-teeth m and through the incline m, as shown in Fig. 2, forces the stop a into the path of the projection n, so that the forward movement of .the pusher D will be stopped when, as shown in Fig. 9, the said projection n strikes the stop 11. At the next forward stroke of the rod 6 and ram 1) the pawl 1 by engaging with the second of the rack teeth at and through the incline m forces the stop at Iod into its operative position and stops the pusher D in the retort at a point farther forward than that determined previously by the 7 By the engagement of the pawl Z stop 01 with the third of the rack-teeth 'm the stop n will be moved into its operative position and the forward travel of the pusher D will be correspondingly limited, and so with the other of the stops, each of which stops the pusher D at a point short of that allowed by the stop last previously brought into operation.

The rod M has pivoted to it a handle Z by which it may be drawn back into its starting position, and it is provided with a series of inclines m so that when thus drawn back it will successively withdraw all the stops n n n a and a into their inoperative positions ready for the next charging operation. The pivoted handle Z is provided with a cam 1 which when used for moving the rod M, as last described,vlifts the pawl l outof engagement with the rack-teeth m, and it is also pro-' vided with a projection Z Fig. 3, which rests on a stud or stop 1 on the lever L and holds up the handle Z and consequently the pawl Z until the commencement of the first stroke of the next charging operation.

lVhen the apparatus is used for stirring or drawing the charges of retorts, the last-del scribed stopping mechanism is dispensed with.

The hydraulic cylinders B and 15 are pref era-bly provided with a cushioning arrangement which confines a certain amount of water in one of the said cylinders at the rear of the ram thereof, so as to prevent shock at the termination of the rearward movement of the rams. This arrangement, as shown in Fig. 1, consists of a passage is, having a branch k opening into the extreme rear end of the cylinder B, and a branch in, opening into the cylinder B at a short distance in advance of the rear end, a valve being arranged between the two branches, which closes the passage for water in the direction from the branch 70 to the branch is, but allows of the free passage of incoming water through the branch 70 When the ram b approaches the end of its back stroke and after itpasses the forward branch 7e, water is confined between its rear end and the end 70 of the cylinder and can only pass slowly between the ram and cylinder or by a restricted passage provided for the purpose; but when water is admitted through the inlet is it can pass through the passage 10 lift the valve 70 and enter the cylinder B by way of the branch I0 and thus force the ram 1) forward.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 1, I prefer to employ a hydraulic cylinder P for moving backward and forward the plate or chute P which communicates between the machine and the retort, the said plate or chute P being connected to the ram 10 by a yoke 19*, which latter admits of the grooved roller E working freely between its two arms.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention and in what manner the'same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is 1. In apparatus'for charging retorts, and for drawing the charges thereof the combination with a guide, or beam, a rod carrying a charge pushing, or withdrawing device, longitudinally-movable on the guide or beam and motor mechanism such as hydraulic cyl-' inders and rams for imparting such movement to the rod, of motor mechanism for raising and lowering the said rod independently of the guide or beam substantially as set forth.

2. In apparatus for charging retorts or for drawing the charges thereof the combination with a guide or beam, a rod carrying a chargin g or withdrawing device longitudinally movstituting a charge-actuating device longitudinally movable in the said guide or beam, a carriage mounted'on rollers adapted to run on paths within the guide or beam, and connected to the rod, hydraulic cylinders and rams for imparting longitudinal movement to the carriage, and rollers on the rams running on the guide or beam substantially as set forth.

4. In apparatus for charging retorts or for drawing the charges thereof, the combination with a guide or beam, a rod carrying a charg ingor withdrawingdevice longitudinally movable on the said guide or beam, motor mechanism for imparting such movement to the rod, a roller supporting the rod and lever= arms carrying the roller, of a-hydraulic motor, substantially as set forth. 5. In apparatus for charging retorts, the combination with a frame or beam, a pusherrod longitudinally movable thereon and mo= tor mechanism such as hydraulic cylinders and rams for imparting such movement to the pusher-rod, of motor mechanism for raising and lowering the pusher-rod independently of the frame or beam, and stops oper-' ated by the said motor. mechanism for limiting the longitudinal movement of the pusher bar substantially as set forth.

6. In apparatus for charging retorts, the combination with a guide or beam, a pusherrod longitudinally movable thereon, and mo-" tor mechanism such as hydraulic cylinders for imparting such movement to the pusherrod, of a rod having inclines, rack-and-pawl mechanism for moving the said rod longitu dinally step by step, motor mechanism for imparting said movement to the rod and stops ing position, a cam on or in connection with the handle for raising the pawl, and means for temporarily supporting the handle and thereby the pawl substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM FOULIS.

arranged on the frame or beam operated sucl ocssively by the inclines on the said rod for limiting the movement of the pusher-rod sub- 1 stantially as set forth. i 7. In apparatus for charging retorts the combination with a longitudinally-movable pusher-rod, a rod having inclines, stops operated bysucli inclines forlimiting the movei l ment of the pusher-rod and raek-and-pawl lVitnesses: and motor mechanism for moving the rod, of JOHN CHARLES EDWIN CHAPMAN, a handle for returning the rack to its start- JOHN SMITH. 

